-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamic faction Hamas met with Jordan 's King Abdullah II on Sunday in his first official trip to Jordan since his expulsion in 1999 .

In a statement issued by Hamas , Khaled Meshaal expressed his appreciation to the king for supporting Palestinians .

`` Any future meetings between Hamas and Jordan open a new page between the two sides and serve the Palestinian cause , '' said Meshaal , who announced earlier this month that he would not seek another term as president of the movement 's governing body .

The meeting comes as Abdullah is making a high-profile attempt to broker new peace talks in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict . Hamas , which the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization , controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza and refuses to recognize Israel 's right to exist .

Meshaal met with Abdullah and the crown prince of Qatar , Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani , Jordan 's state news agency Petra reported . Abdullah reaffirmed his support for a Palestinian state based on the borders drawn before the 1967 Middle East war , `` with East Jerusalem as its capital , '' Petra reported .

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its own capital , and its ultimate status is one of the most contentious points in the talks . But Abdullah also called negotiations `` the sole means to regain Palestinian rights , '' a stance Israel and the United States have supported as Palestinian leaders seek recognition of an independent Palestine at the United Nations .

And Petra said Meshaal called the meetings `` a new opening '' after 12 years , stating Hamas respected `` Jordan 's security , stability and interests . ''

Jordan kicked the leadership of Hamas out of the country in 1999 after accusing it of breaking a deal to restrict its activity to politics . The movement has maintained a headquarters in Syria 's capital Damascus since then , receiving financial and military support from the governments of Hafez al-Assad and his successor , his son Bashar .

But Hamas has been distancing itself from its long-time patron as Syria battles a 10-month-old popular uprising against al-Assad . Hamas personnel and their families have left Syria in recent weeks , and Ismail Haniya , the Hamas leader in Gaza , did not stop in Damascus during a recent regional trip .

Abdullah , meanwhile , told CNN during a recent visit to Washington that he was stepping up to try to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks . He said his message to President Barack Obama was , `` It 's up to us to do the heavy lifting ... We ca n't always have to fall back on the United States to do everything . ''

But Israel and the Palestinian Authority , which controls the West Bank , spent Sunday blaming each other for the latest lack of progress . Speaking at the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinians `` refused to even discuss Israel 's security needs with us '' in the most recent contacts in Amman .

`` Signs are not particularly good , '' Netanyahu said in comments released by his office . `` But I hope that they will come to their senses and continue with the talks in order for us to advance to true negotiations . ''

But Palestinians have blamed Israel 's ongoing construction of settlements in the West Bank , on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state , for the impasse . Senior Palestinian negotiator Mohammad Shtayeh told CNN that the Palestinians presented Israel , Jordan and members of the Mideast Quartet powers with a written document on security and border issues , `` and the Israeli side did not present anything in writing as the Quartet requested . ''

`` The Amman talks were about creating a conducive environment for any future talks , '' Shtayeh said . `` But , unfortunately , Israel did not accept to freeze settlement construction , which we consider as destroying confidence measures and an illegal and provocative act which led to the collapse of the talks . ''

Shtayeh said the Palestinian leadership `` will consult with the Arab countries as will re-evaluate the situation with King of Jordan , and upon all of these consultations we will reach a decision on where to go . ''

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Khaled Meshaal meets with King Abdullah II in Amman

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It 's his first official visit since Jordan expelled Hamas in the 1990s

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Abdullah is attempting to broker new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

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Israel , Palestinians point fingers over the latest impasse